Cheaper alternative to A7rII, the Kolari mod on A7II

[Harley Thor]

How does the A7II with the Kolari sensor mod work with these lenses

Heliar 15mm ver 2
CV 21mm f4
CV 21mm f1.8
ZM 25mm f2.8
Contax G 28mm f2.8
Leica 35mm f2
Contax G 45mm f2
Konica 50mm f2
Leica 90mm f2.8

These are the rangefinder lenses I have. I don't need 4K video or 42mp
so the much less expensive A7II would be a good compromise between the A7s 12mp and no PDAF or IBIS and the A7rII 42mp at over $3,000.

Would an A7II with the Kolari mod give me nice pictures with my lense?

 

[bobby_novatron]

I would also be interested to hear from Sony owners about this. I have been thinking about getting an A7 series camera ... I have read good things about the Kolari mod.

 

[YYV_146]

Not so sure about the CV 21mm F4 or the 28mm Biogon. The other wides should be more or less fine. The 21mm 1.8 is pretty good without the mod anyways, and the Leica 35mm F2 is very good with the Kolari mod.

 

[Harley Thor]

I just was texted a few links to look at

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1392833

The Kolari thin stack mod makes many Leica lenses perform as well in the corners on the a7II as they do on the M240, but not all:

http://blog.kasson.com/?s=kolari++m240

 

[bobby_novatron]

Thanks for posting those links, good info there.

 

[Dez]

Does anyone have a link to comparison tests of an original A7 with and without the Kolari mod? That's closer to my price range!

The only really wide lenses I have are the Canon 28mm f3.5 and the CV 21mm f4.

Cheers,
Dez

 

[BWF]

I’m curious if anyone has first hand experience with a Kolari converted Sony with the ultra thin filter. This article is really helpful but I don’t see much anywhere else on the internet about it. https://phillipreeve.net/blog/review-kolari-ultra-thin-sensor-stack-modification/ There are also Roger Cicala articles on it. https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2015/01/a-thinner-sensor-stack/

I’m in the camp of I’d like a digital camera that performs better than my Sony A7iii with rangefinder lenses, but I don’t really want to spend $3k-$5k on a used Leica digital. I don’t own any native Sony lenses and the only downside of a Kolari conversion appears to be the loss of auto white balance. And loss of auto WB is somewhat annoying. Plus I’m sure a Leica digital is nicer to use than the Sony. So maybe there is no alternative to a Leica digital for better performance on RF lenses (in full frame anyway)? I guess Nikon Z perhaps?